Cult of Luna are a Post-Metal band from Sweden and Julie Christmas is a US solo artist and ex-member of such bands as Battle of Mice and Made out of Babies.
Well, this is a bit exciting. Cult of Luna are one of my favourite bands and Julie Christmas is one of my favourite vocalists. Put them together, and I can’t see how this could be anything short of amazing. Continue reading “Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas – Mariner (Review)”
Krigsgrav are a Black Metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
This is long and expansive Black Metal with a melodic edge. It’s vibrant and exploratory without losing focus and across these lengthy tracks the band take the time to unfold their vision of what Black Metal should look, feel and sound like in 2016.
If you take the depressive core of a band like Forgotten Tomb and add some Post-Black Metal influences, then you’ll be in the right area of where Krigsgrav lurk. Elements of depressive and melodic Black Metal round this out, as well as some aspects of funeral Doom.
With a decent recording the band’s compositions take on a dark life of their own. All of the instruments sound clear and precise, and I always like an album that you can hear the bass on, especially when it makes a valid and noticeable contribution to the music.
Additional instrumentation appears here and there, adding extra tools to the band’s repertoire and deepening the depths of sound that they create.
The vocals are notably impressive; ragged screams that sound like the singer is ripping his throat out are enhanced by the occasional deeper growl and some powerful cleans.
The songs describe harrowing tales of misery and hopelessness, set against a backdrop of just enough light and possibility so as to make the dark atmospheres all the worse. The mixture of lighter sections and heavier, blackened distortion work well and the build/release Post-Metal mechanic is used effectively in a Post-Black Metal environment.
Waves of Degradation is an impressive listen and has more than enough content to compel you to visit it again and again.
Recommended.
This is the latest EP by Rats of Reality, who are a Blackened Crust/Thrash band from the UK.
A short EP at only 11 minutes in length, Rats of Reality manage to have an unexpected start to this release which throws me slightly, before proceeding to demonstrate that yes, they may play some gnarly, crusty, fast-paced blackened grimness, but they do it in unusual and unexpected ways.
On paper, bands like this are plentiful and there’s sometimes very little to differentiate them from each other. As mentioned though, Rats of Reality are a bit different as they also use riffs that are a whole lot more emotive than most bands of this ilk write. They don’t always do this, (Leeches, for example, is a much more straightforward proposition), but when they do the melodies sometimes border on something you’re more likely to get from a Post-Metal/Shoegaze band, and at other times definitely are. Deafheaven plays Crust? Kind of.
Regardless, it’s an interesting and unusual slant on a well-worn sub-genre and overall Obsequies is enriched by these more melodic, emotive guitars. The ugliness of the core style is still here, but now it’s a beautiful ugliness. Or something. Just listen to it, you’ll get what I mean.
I’m pleased by this, as Rats of Reality have surprised and impressed me. I always enjoy it when a band does something a little different, especially if you weren’t expecting them to, and this certainly qualifies.
Highly recommended.
Rorcal are a Blackened Doom band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.
Rorcal are an intriguing band. Having produced a lot of Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal music over the years, their last couple of releases have shown an increasing Black Metal side to their sound, which they now seem to have fully incorporated into their repertoire, (see their split with Process of Guilt, for example). In fact, they’re pretty much at the point now where you could describe them as a Black Metal band and not raise too many eyebrows.
This latest album sees the band offer forth four new tracks spread across 53 minutes, each one a monster. κρέων (Creon) once more demonstrates the band’s mastery of Extreme Metal in all its guises.
The Black Metal elements are present and correct, as are the Sludge, Post-Metal and Doom ones. Rorcal have always had a surprisingly clean and sophisticated sound, despite their predilections for darkness, and κρέων (Creon) is no different. The music may be grim and charged with an energetic negativity, but the band always seem to manage to sound cutting edge no matter what they’re doing, even in their sludgiest or most blackened moments.
These songs mix blackened fury with progressive intent and atmospheric Sludge. As always, whatever aspect of whatever style that Rorcal are currently focusing their attentions on seems to work for them, and the aura of malevolent aggression and downbeat nastiness that these songs exude is palpable.
So, Rorcal return, triumphant, bold and victorious. They are fast becoming one of my favourite purveyors of darkened delights.
This is the third album from Romanian instrumental Post-Metal band Valerinne.
Treading the same stylistic landscape as bands like Pelican and Russian Circles, Valerinne offer up 63 minutes of long, epic tracks that take the listener on a journey in sound and the many ways that it can be used to evoke certain feelings.
Post-Metal and Post-Rock are rightly known for bright, resplendent guitar melodies, shooting out of, (usually), darker music to create multi-faceted and rich compositions that aim to strike a chord with the listener. The music on Monumenta certainly meets that goal and these five songs have more than enough meaningful content to satisfy.
The guitars aren’t the only star of the show though, as not only is there an extremely solid rhythm section providing a firm backbone to the tracks, but added synths also make appearances, subtly enhancing the musical soundscapes and adding value whenever and wherever they’re used.
Deftly utilising the Post-Metal/Post-Rock tried-and-tested build/release mechanic, these tracks take their time exploring the various sounds and feelings of the world they find themselves in, building to crescendo before moving off in into other areas, repeatedly, as the nuances of the songs demand. These are frequently slow and gradual shifts, with the music having a glacial, unhurried feel, despite the sometimes upbeat drums and rhythms.
Albums like this are effortless to enjoy; it’s very easy to just put them on and slip out of the everyday world, getting lost in the exotic and enticing soundscapes created by a talented group such as Valerinne. Press play on this album and this is precisely what happens.
Sit back, take it all in and savour.
This is the fourth album from UK Doom Metal band Camel of Doom.
This unusually named band play experimental Doom Metal that contains elements of Progressive Rock, psychedelia and a bit of Sludge Metal alongside the usual genre trappings. Continue reading “Camel of Doom – Terrestrial (Review)”
This is the second album from US Doom band Lycus.
Lycus play the kind of hugely impressive and accomplished Doom that makes being into this kind of music worth it. Chasms is heavy, slow, full of dark atmosphere and is the kind of thing you can just get lost in.
The band combine Sludge, Funeral Doom, Post-Metal, Death Metal and Black Metal into their sprawling Doom-drenched sound.
The emotive guitars are frequently designed to wring out every last drop of negative emotion from the listener, dragging them deep down into Lycus’ gloom-lit domain.
Deep growling vocals sound huge and intimidating, while lonesome cleans add another aspect to the band’s delivery and allow them to explore other moods and feelings that wouldn’t necessarily fit well with growls.
The dark, doomy worlds that the band effortlessly paint across these 44 minutes are punctuated with moments of Black Metal violence that manage to not feel out of place at all, despite the change in speed and feeling.
A cello also appears infrequently, highlighting another sonic string to their bow, adding another layer of depth to their encompassing sound.
It’s these kind of touches that allow Lycus the freedom to do what they want and create the soundscapes that they feel reflect what they are trying to say. The fact that they do all of this exceedingly well is a huge bonus for the listener, of course.
It’s emotionally stirring stuff, and it’s hard not to get lost in the maelstrom and transported to the grim realms in which Lycus inhabit.
Despite how immediately enjoyable it certainly is, it’s very definitely a grower of an album though, requiring multiple sittings to properly appreciate its subtle and seductive charms. Once it has its claws in you though, there’s no escape. Into the chasms you go.
This is the début demo from US Doom band Sea.
Sea play their Doom with a good amount of Sludge and roiling Neurosis-styled claustrophobic heaviness.
These three tracks drag themselves along, lazily pounding out heavy riffs alternated with more restrained sections, with even the odd guitar solo drifting out from the sludgy miasma that they create. They shift up a gear on rare occasion, introducing some blast beats into their style. These are infrequent and short lived, but it all adds to the music in the right way.
The vocals mainly consist of rough semi-cleans and higher, softer, clean vocals that emphasise the more emotive parts of the songs. These lighter parts showcase a Post-Metal side of the band, allowing them to demonstrate the breadth of ability that they clearly have.
There are some really strong guitar parts across these tracks and the band stand out quite quickly as being above-average in the songwriting department. It’s all very memorable, surprisingly diverse and even catchy for the style.
Sea have made a good impression with this demo and the songs are very enjoyable. I like this kind of gritty, heavy and emotive style of Doom and it would surely be a hit for fans of bands like Neurosis, Sorxe and Sea of Bones, in my opinion.
A highly promising first release.
Hemelbestormer are a Post-Metal band from Belgium. This is their debut album.
Hemelbestormer are an instrumental band and they have created a sweeping epic of an album with four long, sprawling tracks lasting a total of 60 minutes.
Here we have an interesting and involved merging of different styles that are similar enough to get along well, resulting in the quite monolithic Aether.
Post-Metal, Doom and Sludge Metal are the main ingredients. The swirling Doom/Sludge claustrophobia of some of Neurosis’ more abrasive work is met by the expansive Post-Metal that the likes of Isis did so well. This is alongside elements of the heavier work of Pelican, with even some Post-Rock sensibilities of a band like Russian Circles getting a look in too.
The tracks take the listener on a journey through exploratory soundscapes and the Post-Metal build/release mechanic is artfully used throughout.
Aether is as heavily atmospheric as you can probably imagine, but in contrast to some bands that play this style, (especially, it seems, instrumental ones), Hemelbestormer are not afraid to let the distortion properly kick in and get really huge and heavy with the guitars. This pleases me greatly.
I love music that you can truly get lost and absorbed in and this is definitely one such album. Some instrumental bands can easily lose focus due to the lack of a singer, I find, but Hemelbestormer really don’t suffer from that problem. The music is detailed and nuanced enough to keep you coming back to it, but as mentioned previously, they know when to take things up a notch with the heavy guitars at just the right moments.
Very impressive. Take the time to listen to this.
Battle Path are a Progressive Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their third album.
After two extremely gratifying releases, Battle Path are back with a slight change in direction. This time the band have shifted to a more experimental version of their sound, adding keyboards and synths to create expansive songs with an increase in atmosphere.
The blackened bile is still here though, it’s just now wrapped up in a Progressive Metal coating that gives it quite a 70s sheen in some ways, although not properly of course as they didn’t have Black Metal back then. But if they did…
The crushing Doom is still here too. It’s also swaddled in atmospherics that makes everything sound grander and more epic than the band’s previous work. It’s heavy, emotive and devastating.
In reality, of course, there’s no clear delineation between the Black Metal and Doom aspects, with everything flowing and merging together quite nicely. The band have merely added to this already potent cocktail with keyboards/synths, as well as some Post-Metal influences here and there, reminiscent of Cult of Luna, (as embodied on the instrumental title track, for example); in some ways the band are mirroring Cult of Luna’s development into more experimental pastures that offer a wider, more expansive musical scope. Battle Path and Cult of Luna don’t really sound like each other though, it should be stressed, but they do seem to be on similar journeys in some respects.
Vocally we get harsh, blackened screams for the most part, although these are added to by some bowel-shakingly deep growls on occasion. These are used relatively minimally compared to a lot of bands, with the music being allowed to do the talking for the most part, even when the serrated screams are ringing out.
With this album Battle Path have improved and progressed on their already impressive sound and have produced an album that shows a band truly coming into their own. The added progressive elements have enhanced and improved their core delivery so that Ambedo is a truly wonderful listen.
I loved Battle Path before this, and it seems that I love them even more now.
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